Severus Snape
Professor Severus Snape (9 January, 1960 – 2 May, 1998) was ahalf-blood wizard who was the son of the witch Eileen Snape (néePrince) and Muggle Tobias Snape. During his lifetime, Severus Snape was Potions Master (1981–1996), Defence Against the Dark Artsprofessor (1996-1997), and Headmaster (1997-1998) of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (which he attended as a student from1971 until 1978). He was also member of the Order of the Phoenix and played a very important role in both of the Wizarding Wars against Lord Voldemort. Severus Snape was raised in the Muggle dwelling of Spinner's End, which was in close proximity to the home of the Evans family, though in a poorer area. He met Lily and Petunia Evans when he was nine, and fell deeply in love with Lily, becoming a close friend of hers. In1971 he began his first term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he was sorted into Slytherin. This put him in the same year as his true love, Lily Evans, but unfortunately for him, in rival houses. Severus became the immediate enemy of James Potter andSirius Black and was a frequent victim of their bullying. Snape developed a passion for the Dark Arts at a young age, which increased as his desire for revenge grew stronger. Snape became involved with the bullies in Slytherin House, many who were pure-blood supremacists. This put his friendship with Lily, a Muggle-born, under great strain, until it was eventually broken in their fifth year. In an attempt to win back Lily's affections , Snape joined the Death Eaters along with a group of his fellow Slytherins. Severus was made a member of the Slug Club, presumably because of his brilliance at potion-making, and Horace Slughorn kept a picture of him as a student, clutching his copy of Advanced Potion-Making. Despite this, Horace did not have many hopes for Severus' future, as his photograph was kept behind many others. Shortly before Lily Evans was murdered by Lord Voldemort, Snape changed sides and became a member of the Order of the Phoenixand double agent during the Second Wizarding War. With tremendous difficulty, Snape was able to prevent Lord Voldemort from learning the truth about his loyalties. Despite the opinions of most others including Harry during his early life, Albus Dumbledore trusted Snape for reasons that were kept between them both until their deaths. Upon his death, it was revealed that his deep, strong love for Lily Evans caused him to redeem himself, joining Dumbledore's cause at the prospect of her protection from Lord Voldemort. The relationship between Dumbledore and Snape would be one of an unusually strong loyalty, so much so that Snape agreed to kill Dumbledore upon Dumbledore's own request. Before Dumbledore's death, Snape promised to protect the students of Hogwarts from the Death Eaters, who would inevitably take control of the Ministry of Magic, as well as the school. Snape later participated in the Battle of Hogwarts, but was murdered by Lord Voldemort who mistakenly believed that Snape was the master of the Elder Wand (an immensely strong and powerful wand that Voldemort deeply desired) when in reality, Draco Malfoy was, unknowingly, the master of the Elder Wand because he disarmed Dumbledore, but was later disarmed by Harry Potter, thus Harry was the wand's rightful master and therefore able to use it. After his death, Harry Potter ensured that Severus Snape's portrait remained at Hogwarts, honouring him as a hero, despite their significant personal differences. In addition Harry later named his second son Albus Severus Potter after him. Tools # Advanced Potion-Making # Elder Wand 2nd Wizard War During the 1995-1996 school year, with Voldemort having returned to his body, Snape carried on with his work as a re-doubled agent for Dumbledore. During the summer, he was seen at Number 12, Grimmauld Place giving reports to the Order of the Phoenix. Snape frequently taunted Sirius about the latter not being able to take an active role in the Order's missions due to his fugitive status. Order-of-the-phoenix-movie-screencaps.com-8309 Harry's first Occlumency lesson with Snape Back at school, Snape's allegiance to the Order had no effect on his dislike for Harry. When Harry began having visions about Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore asked Snape teach Harry Occlumency in order to shut down the telepathic connection.8 However, the mutual hostility made it difficult for them to work productively during the sessions. Indeed, Snape had to be very careful in the ways that he helped Harry, should Voldemort read Harry's mind and discover his servant working against him. At one point, Harry peeked into the Pensieve when Snape was out of his office and witnessed a private memory of Snape being bullied and harassed by Harry's father. Upon returning, Snape threw him out of the office and forbade him from ever coming back again. For all the rest of that semester, he treated Harry with redoubled contempt and fury and ignored him in class whenever possible. Order-of-the-phoenix-movie-screencaps.com-11933 Harry relaying his cryptic message to Snape "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden" Towards the end of the school year, Dolores Umbridge captured Harry and questioned him on the whereabouts of Dumbledore. She sent for Snape to provide Veritaserum to force Harry to reveal any information he may be hiding. Snape claimed that his supplies of Veritaserum were exhausted earlier, when she had attempted to use the drug surreptitiously to force information from Harry (though ironically it is highly likely that he lied). Snape withheld further assistance. It is later revealed that Snape had actually given fake potion on the prior attempt. Upon hearing Harry's cryptic warning about Sirius's capture, he swiftly carried the message back to the other Order members, and helped come up with a plan for them to come to the rescue in the Department of Mysteries while he searched the Forbidden Forest for Harry. But since Umbridge was near, he pretended to ignore it. However, despite the fact that Snape came to his aid multiple times throughout the year, Harry hated him as much as ever, believing Snape's goading spurred Sirius into joining the battle. 1996-1997 school yearEdit "Severus... please..." —Dumbledore's last words, pleading Snape to end his lifesrc Unbreakablevow Snape and Narcissa Malfoy making an Unbreakable Vow, with Bellatrix Lestrange as the Bonder Prior to the start of the 1996-1997 school year, Snape was visited by Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy at his home in Spinner's End. Narcissa's son Draco had been given a difficult task by Voldemort, and Narcissa swore Snape to an Unbreakable Vow, on pain of death should he break it, that he would protect Draco, help him complete Voldemort's task, and finish the task himself if Draco failed. When questioned by Bellatrix about his loyalties, Snape claimed to have been working for Voldemort (rather than for Dumbledore) ever since Voldemort's return, and explained his actions in the previous years in that light. In addition, he pointed out that Dumbledore's protection had kept him out of Azkaban and free to operate on Voldemort's behalf. At the start-of-term feast at Hogwarts, Dumbledore announced he had finally appointed Snape as Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Snape was no less severe in teaching Defence than he had been with Potions, although he did allow students who achieved below "Outstanding" at O.W.L. level to enter his N.E.W.T. classes. Having finally acquired the position he desired for so long, Snape taught the lessons with a tone of passion for the Dark Arts he sought to undo. Horace Slughorn, a retired Hogwarts teacher, replaced Snape as Potions Master. Slughorn loaned Harry an old Potions textbook, in which Harry found marginalia including helpful tips on how to make potions better and a variety of hexes and jinxes seemingly invented by an unknown student. The book was inscribed "This Book is the Property of the Half-Blood Prince". With the help of the notes, Harry quickly became the best potion-maker in the class and Slughorn's favourite student. Snape, however, was suspicious when he heard about Harry's newfound success, maintaining that he "never had the impression that he had been able to teach Potter anything at all". Snape healing Malfoy Snape healing Draco Malfoy's wounds after a duel with Harry Potter Later, in a fight with Draco, Harry cast one of the Prince's spells marked "For Enemies" (Sectumsempra) and was horrified when it caused devastating wounds to Draco's face and chest. Snape rushed to the scene and healed Draco's wounds, and then interrogated Harry about the source of the spell. When Harry refused to tell him anything, Snape demanded that he bring him all of his books. Harry hid the Prince's book and gave Ron Weasley's copy of the book to Snape instead. Snape punished Harry by giving him a detention every Saturday for the rest of the year, including during the final Quidditch match of the season. The Lightning-Struck Tower, B6C27M1 Snape casting Avada Kedavra, ending Dumbledore's life Before leaving with Dumbledore to find a Horcrux, Harry discovered from Professor Trelawney that it had been Snape who overheard the Prophecy and told it to Voldemort, thus causing Voldemort to hunt Harry and his parents. Despite this and Harry's angry questions, Dumbledore maintained that he trusted Severus. After returning to Hogwarts, Harry and Dumbledore alit on the school's Astronomy Tower. Gravely weakened by Voldemort's potion, and the school being under attack by Death Eaters, Dumbledore asked Harry to fetch Snape for him. Before Harry could leave, Draco arrived and disarmed Dumbledore, intending to carry out Voldemort's ordered assassination. Draco was unable to bring himself to commit the murder, however, and Snape killed the headmaster himself. EPICNESS "You dare use my own spells against me, Potter? It was I who invented them — I, the Half-Blood Prince!" An enraged Harry (who had been immobilised by Dumbledore for his own protection and witnessed the killing while under his Invisibility cloak) chased Snape, Draco, and the Death Eaters as they fled the castle. The two of them engaged in a fierce duel, which became increasingly one-sided. Snape easily blocked Harry's attempts to attack him and jeeringly pointed out Harry's mistakes, but refused to strike back. During the confrontation, Snape also revealed himself to be the "Half-Blood Prince" (being the son of Tobias Snape, a Muggle, and Eileen Prince, a pure-blood). Harry was unable to stop Snape before the latter passed through the school gates and Disapparated. On the runEdit Hermione Granger: "I don't think he wanted to associate himself with that book. I don't think Dumbledore would have liked it very much if he'd known. And even if Snape pretended it hadn't been his, Slughorn would have recognised his writing at once." Harry Potter: "I should have showed the book to Dumbledore. All that time he was showing me how Voldemort was evil even when he was at school, and I had proof Snape was, too —" — Harry Potter and Hermione Granger upon finding out Snape was the owner of the textbook, Advanced Potion-Makingsrc HP7-FP-IDS4 Severus at the Death Eater Meeting at Malfoy Manor After killing Albus Dumbledore and fleeing the school, Snape once more rejoined the ranks of the Death Eaters. In the summer of 1997, Snape informed Lord Voldemort that Harry was to depart from his relatives' house four days before his birthday. On Dumbledore's orders, Snape told the Death Eaters the correct date so as to continue Voldemort's trust in him. Snape then fed Mundungus Fletcher the idea of using seven decoys of Harry Potter during his movement to a place of safety so that when the Death Eaters arrived, they would not know who the real one was. In order to be consistent in his own role as a Death Eater, Snape confunded Fletcher so that he would not remember who told him. Because of Snape's information, when the Order of the Phoenix moved Harry from 4 Privet Drive they were ambushed by Death Eaters, and the Battle of the Seven Potters ensued. During the battle, Snape accidentally sliced George Weasley's ear off with his wand while aiming at another Death Eater. As HeadmasterEdit "Severus Snape, long-standing Potions master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and wizardry, was today appointed Headmaster in the most important of several staffing changes at the ancient school. Following the resignation of the previous Muggle Studies teacher, Alecto Carrow will take over the post while her brother, Amycus, fills the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. "I welcome the opportunity to uphold our finest Wizarding traditions and values —"" —Daily Prophet, 1 September, 1997src Dp severus snape The Daily Prophet reports Snape's appointment as Headmaster During the 1997-1998 school year, Snape was named Headmaster of Hogwarts, while Death Eaters Alecto and Amycus Carrow were appointed Deputy Heads. Snape used his position as Headmaster to discreetly protect the students and to contain the Carrows. It is later understood that, during his time as Headmaster, Snape consulted with the portraits of the previous headmasters, and continued to receive instructions from Dumbledore's portrait. Before the beginning of the first term, Rufus Scrimgeour removed the Sword of Gryffindor from its glass case in the headmaster's office for examination, along with the other items Dumbledore left in his will. However, this sword was a fake. The real sword had been hidden in a hole in the wall behind Dumbledore's portrait. When its counterfeit had been returned to Dumbledore's office, another attempt to seize the sword was made by Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and Ginny Weasley. After pretending to punish them by sending them into the forest with Hagrid, Snape passed the fake sword along to Bellatrix Lestrange, who kept it in her vault at Gringotts, thinking that it was real. Tumblr mtugozGgnm1sg49umo3 250 Harry being led by a doe Patronus (Snape's Patronus) to the hiding place of the Sword of Gryffindor Upon being informed of Harry Potter's whereabouts, Dumbledore's portrait instructed Snape to give Harry the real sword without the latter knowing it. Not only would Harry not have taken kindly to Snape's appearance after his attack on George Weasley, and also for the murder of Dumbledore of which Harry was an eye-witness, it would have been dangerous if Voldemort were to read his mind and see Snape helping him. Snape then took the real sword, hid it in a frozen pool of water near Harry's camping spot, and used his Patronus to guide Harry to it. As a headmaster, Snape was thoroughly disliked by many of his students. The old members of Dumbledore's Army reformed the organisation after Lord Voldemort gained control over the school and started up a revolt against Snape and the Carrows. Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley were at the forefront of the rebellion. Snape, following up on his promise to Dumbledore to keep the students safe, subtly undermined the violent, sadistic attempts of the Carrows to keep control by doing things such as sending students to help Hagrid as punishments rather than the Carrows' more dangerous alternatives. Also, during his tenure, the Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four was re-enacted. Ousting as HeadmasterEdit "No! You'll do no more murder at Hogwarts!" —Filius Flitwick confronts Snape during his oustingsrc Tumblr m6w94mksyO1qepf8yo6 250 Snape being ousted by McGonagall and the other professors Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to Hogwarts Castle in search of one of the last of Voldemort's Horcruxes, which they believed to have something to do with Rowena Ravenclaw. The only idea they could come up with was Ravenclaw's lost diadem, and so Harry and Luna Lovegood went to the Ravenclaw Common Room to get an idea of what the diadem looked like. Here they were met by Alecto Carrow, who pressed her finger to the Dark Mark and summoned Voldemort. Amycus Carrow arrived, but so did Minerva McGonagall, and Snape subtly allowed the inept Death Eater Carrow siblings to be knocked out in the battle. As McGonagall rushed to meet with the other Heads of Houses to protect the school from Voldemort's oncoming attack, she was stopped by Snape, who demanded she tell him if she knew the whereabouts of Harry Potter. The two began fighting, and while Snape put up a good defence, McGonagall was soon helped by the arrival of the other Heads of House: Sprout, Flitwick, and Slughorn. Outnumbered, Snape fled the castle, jumping out the window of a classroom and using the ability to fly without a broom, which he presumably learned from Voldemort. Battle of Hogwarts and deathEdit "You've been a good and faithful servant, Severus, but only I can live forever." —Voldemort before killing Severus Snape because the Elder Wand won't work for himsrc Pottermore Snape's Death Nagini attacks Snape in the Shrieking Shack as Voldemort looks on Later in the evening, Snape was summoned by Voldemort to the Shrieking Shack. Erroneously believing Snape was the master of the Elder Wand, Voldemort had his snake Nagini bite him through the neck, believing that Snape's death would make him the true master of the Wand. Before dying, Snape released a cloud of memories and told Harry, who had watched the entire scene from a hidden spot, to take them. Harry later took the memories to the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office. From these memories, Harry learned all about Snape's past. In the first scene, Harry discovered that Snape had befriended Lily as a nine-year-old child when they lived near each other. Tumblr mztm7tME391r1d9g4o3 250 Snape's memory of Lily being Sorted into Gryffindor Upon their arrival at Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat placed Snape and Lily into Slytherin and Gryffindor Houses, respectively. They remained close friends for the next few years until they were driven apart by Snape's interest in the Dark Arts and by Lily's interest in James Potter. The friendship finally ended following the incident that Harry had briefly witnessed in his fifth year, in which Snape accidentally insulted Lily. Despite this separation, and Snape's enmity toward Lily's eventual husband James Potter, Snape continued to love Lily on a much deeper and stronger romantic level for the rest of his life. Snape was next seen going to Dumbledore and desperately begging him to hide the Potters from Lord Voldemort, who was planning on targeting Lily's son to prevent a prophecy from being fulfilled. Snape had been the one who previously revealed said prophecy to Voldemort, not knowing at first that it was referring to Lily and her family. Though he asked Voldemort to spare Lily, Snape still feared for her safety, as he knew that Voldemort could not be relied on to grant this small favour. Snape became a double agent for the Order of the Phoenix so that Dumbledore could ensure Lily's protection, employing Occlumency to hide his duplicity from his master. Snape felt devastating pain and remorse when Lily was found and murdered. From that point on, he agreed to help Dumbledore protect her son and fight against Lord Voldemort. Snape demanded, however, that his feelings about Lily be kept a secret. Dumbledore complied and never told anyone the real reason why Snape switched sides. Dumbledore-ring Marvolo Gaunt's ring with a curse that was slowly killing Dumbledore Snape's memories then revealed that Dumbledore had been afflicted by a powerful curse cast on Marvolo Gaunt's ring, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, prior to the start of Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts. Although Snape's knowledge of the Dark Arts enabled him to slow the spread of the curse, the curse would have ultimately killed Dumbledore within a year. Dumbledore, aware that Voldemort had ordered Draco to kill him, asked Snape to kill him instead as a way of sparing the boy's soul and of preventing his own otherwise slow, painful death. Although Snape was reluctant, even asking about the impact of such an action on his own soul, Dumbledore implied that this kind of coup de grâce would not damage a human's soul in the same way murder would. Furthermore, once Snape had done the deed, he would gain Voldemort's complete trust and learn more of his plans. Snape agreed to do as the Headmaster requested. Snape's memories also provided Harry with the information he needed to ensure Voldemort's final defeat, in the form of conversations Snape had with Dumbledore. Because of the memories, Harry finally understood where Snape's true allegiances always were. He also showed Harry the memory where Albus Dumbledore had told him about Harry himself being a Horcrux (although he did not understand it) because Dumbledore had asked him to pass that along to Harry when the time was right. Post-mortemEdit "Severus Snape wasn't yours, Snape was Dumbledore's, Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down my mother! ... He was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been working against you ever since! Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him!" —Harry reveals Snape's true colours to Voldemort during their final duelsrc Voldemort's End Pottermore The final duel between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort During the final duel between Harry and Voldemort, Harry finally told him that Snape had been, in fact, Dumbledore's man. Harry also revealed that Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand, because Snape never defeated Dumbledore; the two had arranged his death as he would have died either way. Before Snape killed Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy disarmed Dumbledore. Therefore, Draco was the true master of the Elder Wand, not Snape. However, Harry had overpowered Draco at Malfoy Manor and taken his wand. Because of the subtleties governing wand ownership discussed by Garrick Ollivander, Harry was master of the Elder Wand. Snape's true loyalties remained hidden due to his skills as an Occlumens and the fact his actions were motivated by love, which completely eluded Voldemort. Snape's portrait was not automatically put into the Headmaster's office since he had essentially abandoned his post during the Battle of Hogwarts. However, Harry, in one of his acts of showing reconciliation towards Snape, made sure that his portrait was placed there.9 It is possible that Harry gave his corpse a proper burial after the war ended. Albus Severus Potter, the second son of Harry, and the only one of Harry's children to have inherited Lily's bright green almond-shaped eyes, is named after Snape. When Albus was worried that he may be Sorted into Slytherin, Harry responded that Albus was named after two headmasters, one of whom was a Slytherin and who was "probably the bravest man I ever knew." Rita Skeeter published a book about Snape's life, entitled Snape: Scoundrel or Saint?, sometime after his death.10 If it is consistent with Skeeter's other works, it is probably riddled with inaccuracies designed to tarnish Snape's reputation. 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